Survival of the Fittest
by Ashbrie13
Summary: Sina Reyye was reaped for the 33rd Hunger Games, much to her distaste. The Head Gamemaker has brutal plans for these Games, a final pop before she finally retires from her job. The Head Gamemaker has had years of experience of torturing children, and she assured all of Panem that this Games will be breathtaking. Can Sina and her friends survive these perilous Games?
1. Into the Games

**So I was bored randomly at a sleepover, and I began to conjure this up. So now you guys have ANOTHER fic from me. Also, to my 225th HG readers, I promise I'll update as soon as I can.**

Her stylist, Cochea, waved a teary goodbye, and the tube shot up from underground to the arena, carrying sixteen year old Sina Reyye along with it, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. As soon as her platform settled down in its position, the countdown began at 60 seconds and Sina carefully analyzed her surroundings. The arena was a vast grassland with no visible hiding possibilities. There were a few trees but nothing else in sight. The grasslands at least reminded her of home, though.

57...

56...

Sina bit her lip at the sight of the golden Cornucopia and the massive amount of weapons and supplies strewn around it.

54...

53...

Her eyes darted to her sides. The District One girl was placed next to her right, much to Sina's dismay. The District Three boy, Techno, was to her left.

47...

46...

Sina couldn't see her ally, Micah anywhere near her. She groaned. Of course the Gamemakers wouldn't put her near Micah, all the more "fun" for the Capitol. Sina suddenly regretted her actions in front of the Gamemakers during her training examination. Her score of 7 was definitely going to make her a target for the Careers. Sina gulped worriedly.

38...

37...

36...

Sina began to focus on her target at the Cornucopia, a sheath of knives only 20 meters away. A small orange backpack lay nearby it. She wondered what was inside it.

31..

30...

Run in, grab the supplies, get the hell out of the area. That was her plan.

27...

26...

25...

She turned to look behind her, but the grasslands seemed to stretch in every direction. Sina shuffled around on her platform a bit, careful to abide by her escort Shimm's careful directions NOT to step off the plate before the gong went off.

13...

12...

Her muscles tensed in anticipation, her heartbeat growing faster by the second.

6...

5...

Sina's head whipped to the side as she heard a loud boom a few plates away. An exploded tribute's remains was strewn across four plates, resulting in four equally disgusted faces.

2...

1...

The gong went off and the announcer's booming voice rang across the arena, "Let the 33rd Hunger Games begin!"

Sina took off on a fast, calculated sprint towards her desired weapons and backpack.

A boy Sina didn't recognize, almost immediately tried to push her down to get the supplies himself, but he was small and wiry and she shoved him away with ease._ Hah. Sucker._

Sina avoided any more conflicts and grabbed the sheath and the backpack. She slung the backpack over her shoulder and ran in the opposite direction of the Cornucopia, stooping down to grab a lone apple from the ground a few inches away from a dead body, frozen in a terrified stance. Sina shuddered, but consoled herself with the fact that it was one tribute closer to getting back to District 9.

Sina didn't dare look back at the sight bestowed behind her. She knew what was there and she didn't want to see it. She just kept running.

Truthfully, she was surprised that nobody besides that boy tried to attack her. Especially since she got so many supplies. But she decided not to question it any further, and to try to focus on finding Micah.

Sina slowed to a jog once she felt that she was far enough from the Cornucopia and the Careers, but it bothered her that there wasn't anywhere to hide. She had only passed three trees, and the rest of the territory was tall, dry grasses. Hiding in a tree was not an option, it was an obvious hiding place. She would be unprotected in the grass, so that was out.

She glanced up at the sky. The sun was at around midday. She still had plenty of time. Sina glanced behind her, and breathed a sigh of relief. There was no one following her. She narrowed her eyes forwards, and peered into the distance.

Trees.

She saw trees. Lots of trees.

A forest!

Sina hurried excitedly towards the forest, glad that the Gamemakers at least gave her some shelter. She instinctively raised the apple to her mouth for a bite, but restrained herself after she remembered that she was in the Hunger Games, and that there was a good chance that the apple was all the food she had. Besides, she wasn't that hungry. She could survive for a few more hours.

Sina disappeared into the forest, immediately getting out a knife, and gripped it in her right hand tightly, just in case. She kept her eyes and ears peeled for any sign of movement.

She wandered further into the forest, marveling at its beauty. The forest was full of oak and birch trees, with lush green leaves and small branches poking out. Mushrooms hid under fallen leaves, but Sina identified them all as poisonous. She could hear squirrels skittering in the canopy above, and birds twittered and cheeped from all directions. Otherwise, it was quiet.

Too quiet.

Sina was feeling very wary of her surroundings. She doubted that the Gamemakers would let out a mutt on the first day, but they were all very unpredictable. The general silence was very eerie.

She heard a crash behind her, and whipped around immediately. Then she saw a dazed-looking squirrel lying next to a broken branch on the ground. Sina breathed a heavy sigh of relief, grateful that it wasn't anything too dangerous.

Sina continued on her way, trying not to make any noise, as to alert any tributes that might be nearby. She checked behind her systematically, and listened carefully for any movements. The forest seemed to be endless. Time ticked by, and the sun drooped lower and lower into the sky, nearing dusk.

Sina was finally beginning to get tired of walking. There was a large boulder to her right and she circled around it, bending her knees slightly, as she went down off the path. She sighed gratefully when she found that it was an overhang to a small cave, with a soft, grassy patch lining the ground. Sina climbed under it, tossed her backpack to the side and relaxed for a few minutes.

Once she got her energy back, she sat up, and much to her surprise, didn't bang her head on the roof of the rock. She glanced up and saw that there was a few inches left above her.

"Yesss!" she thought, and fist-pumped the air.

She then turned to her supplies lying next to her. She hadn't had time earlier to figure out what she had, and now was the perfect time. One apple, she already knew that. Her sheath of knives contained a set of nine sharp throwing knives, and a large hunting knife. When she opened the bright orange backpack, she found a useful utility belt with a small flashlight and a lighter attached to it, along with a small package of beef jerky and a small bottle labeled "Iodine". As she dug further into her backpack, she found a tin canteen, a length of rope, and finally, a small, folded-up blanket.

Sina grinned, and scooched forwards, out of the cave. She stood up, and attached the utility belt to the cargo pants that the Capitol had issued to her. She clipped the hunting knife to her right side, and slid each of the nine knives into a large pocket on the side of her left hip. She glanced up at the darkening sky and retreated back into the overhang.

Sina was just getting comfortable when she heard a branch snapping from behind the boulder. All movements stopped. She stopped chewing on the small piece of jerky that was in her mouth, her breathing quieted, and her body completely froze. Sina carefully, silently slid her left hand into her belt pocket and retrieved one of her knives. She slowly transferred it into her right hand, holding it tightly.

Sina recognized the sounds as footsteps.

They were getting louder, which meant they were getting closer.

Sina took a sharp intake of air, and stiffened. She had been too loud.

Was this really going to be how she dies? Because she breathed too loud? She cussed mentally at herself for her stupidity.

Sneakers emerged at the edge of the overhang, and a face popped up right in front of Sina.

Sina screamed.

**And I'm ending it with a cliffhanger. Suckers.**

**~Ash out.**


	2. Seriously, Micah?

Micah Brook's grinning face peered down at a terrified Sina, whose face was caught in a surprised scream. Sina's knife clattered from her shaking hand and onto the tough ground.

"Micah, what the hell?" Sina exclaimed, still feeling a bit shocked.

"Sina, chill. You're gonna attract all the Careers."

"Ugh, you suck, Micah. You seriously startled me. Did you get any supplies?" Sina groaned.

"I got my bow and a container of arrows. Nothing else, though." Micah sighed, but asked, "Did you get anything?"

Sina rolled her eyes, "I got my knives, iodine, a blanket, a little bit of food, rope and some other random supplies."

"Wow, that's actually good." Micah's eyes widen a little bit, and Sina motioned for the other girl to move into the cave. Micah did so, dumping her bow and arrows next to the other girl's supplies. The two girls sat in silence for a few minutes.

"We have to go hunting for food tomorrow. I can give you some jerky if you want." Sina spoke.

"Yes, please."

Sina handed a small strip of jerky to Micah, who took it eagerly.

The sun had just barely disappeared into the darkness, and an owl hooted eerily above the two girls' hideout. Sina shuddered. Micah patted her back, "Scaredy-cat."

"Am not!" Sina retorted.

"Dude, you totally are too." Micah scoffed, and Sina grumbled under her breath. She chewed on another bit of the jerky, feeling hungry after the first day in these torturous Games.

Micah piped up, "I saw a creek on my way here. We can get water tomorrow."

Sina raised her eyebrow, "How'd you find me, anyways?"

Micah sighed, her brown eyes rolling in their sockets, "I saw you running away from the Cornucopia. Your red hair is hard to miss."

Sina automatically bit her lip, curling a stray strand of her wavy red hair. She looked at Micah, whose black hair was gleaming in the pale moonlight. The brown-eyed girl was staring out into the forest, legs crossed, her chin resting in her hand.

Suddenly, music boomed from somewhere in the arena, and there was a flash of light in the sky. Sina and Micah eyed each other, then climbed out of their hiding spot to gaze at the sky.

The Panem seal was currently lighting up the sky. Seven booms sounded, and seven headshots of tributes, in order of districts, decorated the night sky. There were three girls and four boys dead. Sina only recognized the boy who tried to push her down as one of the fallen tributes.

She smirked slightly, glad that the little bastard was dead. Then she cursed herself for thinking like that. But then again, she was in the Hunger Games. Morals didn't exist here.

Sina shrugged, then asked Micah, "Did you know any of them?"

Micah tilted her head slightly, replying, "Not really. I said hi to the girl from Seven once, though. I think her name was Emaree. Such a shame."

Sina retreated back into the cave, lying down against the cold grass, and listened to the crickets chirp. She pulled the blanket towards her and curled up automatically into her fetal position.

Micah followed in suit a few minutes later. Sina stretched and pushed the blanket towards Micah. "It's okay, I used to do this at sleepovers all the time. Besides, the blanket's actually pretty big."

Her ally gratefully covered herself in the blanket. The night was cold, and they could both feel a chilly breeze by their feet. Sina tried flexing her toes to warm up, but it made no mark against the weather outside.

A snore came from beside Sina. Micah was already fast asleep, her mouth open and dribbling spittle. Sina withheld a snicker. She sighed, adjusted herself so that she was comfortable and closed her eyes.

Sleep overcame her within the next few minutes, and Sina entered the dreamworld.

**And thus we end Day 1. Bit of a short chapter, I know, but I'll update soon. Also, can you guys all do a favor and REVIEW if you've read it? I'm seeing a lot of views, but only one review. I wasn't going to update this chapter until I got 3 reviews, but I just really wanted to update. I'll update again when I hit 6 reviews. I have Chapter 3 already half-written. **

**List of the dead:**

**District 5 boy (the one that attacked Sina)**

**District 6 girl**

**District 7 boy**

**District 7 girl, Emaree**

**District 10 boy**

**District 11 girl**

**District 12 boy**

**~Ash out**


	3. First Kill

When Sina awoke, she found that her companion was gone. She glanced over towards her supplies, but they remained at the same place that they were before. The only thing that was gone was Micah's bow and arrows.

Good, she didn't betray me. That would've sucked if she did.

A cannon boomed. Sina sat up straight, worried that it could've been Micah.

Apparently, it wasn't Micah, because the said girl came rushing over to their campsite, a wild look in her eyes. She was out of breath, and blood splattered her clothes. Her bow and arrows were slung on her back and a backpack was in her left hand. Sina's eyes widened, scooching forwards and out of the cave to greet Micah.

"What happened?" Sina whispered.

"A tribute attacked me. I think... I think I killed her..."

Sina gasped. Micah looked stricken with grief.

"I didn't want to kill anyone!" she wailed, her voice reaching unusually high pitches.

"Shhh... shhh... calm down. It's gonna be okay." Sina tried to calm the other girl down, but it was to no avail.

"This is the freaking Hunger Games. It's never going to be okay." Micah sobbed, and Sina pulled her into a comforting hug. The younger girl didn't stop crying. Memories flashed through Sina's mind. Micah reminded her of her little sister, Cass. They were both 14 and they both acted untouchable but were sensitive when you were close to them.

_Sina was eight, and her little sister six. It was the day of the accident. Sina and Cass were walking to school with their father. The trio were crossing the street when the mayor came speeding up in his new car, about to drop off his nine year old son, Sebastian._

_The mayor, a stocky man of age 53, didn't notice the two short bobbing heads eagerly dashing across the street on the first day of school. He just kept driving at full speed to the parking lot, trying to make a show of himself to impress young Sebastian._

_He would've hit both girls if it weren't for their devoted father._

_Their father, who threw himself forwards, wanting nothing but to save his innocent daughters._

_Their father, who shoved Sina and Cass out of the way, just to get hit full-on by the mayor, as if that was his reward for his brave deed._

_Their father, who lay, silent and quiet, in a coffin, six feet under the ground, in a deserted graveyard at the edge of District 9._

_Their father, whose last words were "I love you."_

_Before he died, bleeding out on the concrete road._

_His hand, that Sina gripped tightly, going limp as he breathed for the last time. His eyes, fluttering closed. His heart, beating its last._

_And the sisters, sobbing in the middle of the street._

_The mayor stopped after hearing the girls' pained screams. He apologized profusely, acting for the growing crowd around them. The school official nearby called Sina and Cass' mother, who ran the whole way to school, hoping that what the man had said wasn't true. But it was, and their newly impregnated mother joined in with the crying._

_The mayor, at a later time, agreed to cover the family's expenses for three years, as some sort of compensation for their father's death. As if money could ever compensate. Their mother had to find a job after the three years had passed, and it was named Sina's duty to take care of their little brother, Hunter, who was named after his brave father. Their mother, a sturdy woman of 43, quickly found a job, but it was low-paying, and did not come close to covering the family's expenses. The five years following were very tough, and the family was forced to move into the outskirts of the District, and Sina took out tesserae each year._

"Sina? Sina? Are you still in there?" Micah shook the older girl, who carried a dazed expression, still lost in her past. Sina snapped back into reality.

"What?"

"You zoned out." Micah giggled, seemingly over the past events.

"Oh. I was thinking about my dad."

"Cool."

Sina glanced down at the ground, "He died in a car crash when I was eight." She felt like she needed to add that, but she didn't exactly know why. She felt her eyes tearing up, but she quickly wiped it away.

Micah patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. Sina wasn't sure whether she wanted to shove the girl away or hug her. She decided to wrap Micah in a tight embrace.

"What happened earlier, Micah?" Sina questioned.

Micah gulped, "Um... well, I was out hunting for food, when the girl jumped out from a bush and tried to stab me."

Sina gasped, "Are you okay?!"

Micah nodded slowly, "She only nicked me on the shoulder, don't worry. She was a lot younger than me though, she looked twelve."

Sina felt a pang of horror. A twelve year old had tried to kill Micah, not to mention died.

"She had the knife against my throat. I guess my instincts kicked in. Everything's a bit fuzzy, she was at my throat one moment, and lying on the ground, bleeding from a wound in her chest the next."

Micah closed her eyes, and scrunched up her face, as if trying to erase the memory. Sina looked slightly shaken at the thought, but reverted to trying to comfort Micah.

"Lie down. You need to get some rest." Sina hugged Micah, who sniffled loudly. But Micah lay down, covering her body with the thin blanket. Her supplies were left discarded to the side. Sina could swear she heard Micah snoring.

Sina moved back into the cave and opened Micah's backpack. She knew it had to be the other tribute's. The pack was relatively empty, with only a half-empty canteen and a small roll of bread. Sina then recognized the fact that she hadn't drank anything in almost a full day and that she was incredibly thirsty. She grasped the canteen in her right hand, opened the cap and waterfalled the rest of the water in it. A drop of water dribbled down her chin and she licked at it.

She realized that neither her nor Micah would be able to survive without a steady supply of water. Sina hadn't seen any sort of water when she was running towards the forest, and she had no death wish of going back to the Cornucopia.

So, she decided to grab her knives, and both canteens, and to head off into the forest in search of a water source.

**And we learn a little bit about Sina's past now. I'm tired and sad. It's Spring Break, and I wish I were anywhere but here. Half my class went to DC on a trip, and even though I didn't want to go before, now I wish I had. Also, I'll update at 9 reviews. I only got 5 out of the 6 that I wanted last time, but I updated anyways because I felt like it. **

**List of the dead:**

District 5 boy (the one that attacked Sina)

District 6 girl

District 7 boy

District 7 girl, Emaree

District 8 girl (age 12)

District 10 boy

District 11 girl

District 12 boy


	4. Water

Sina wandered through the forest, marking trees with her hunting knife, as to make sure she wouldn't get lost. She scratched her arm and to her disdain, realized that a mosquito had bitten her. Sina cursed, feeling irritated. She ran her fingers through her hair and tossed her head forwards, then back. With her head still leaning backwards, she tied up her hair in a ponytail.

_Much better. It's out of my face now,_ she thought, smiling at her tiny achievement.

A crow cackled somewhere in the trees. Sina's head jerked to the side apprehensively. Its beady red eyes caught her gaze and it laughed, before taking flight again. She watched it go, its black feathers flapping, almost gracefully, into the distance.

Sina continued on her way, listening carefully. She fingered the small bottle of iodine in her utility belt and breathed deeply. That miniscule bottle could be the difference between survival and death.

She sighed, weaving her way through the thick brushes of the forest. She continued on her way, until she arrived at a small drop-off. Not knowing this, she walked right off of it, and a wet, squelchy feeling rose up her boots, and she looked down, gagging. She was in a swamp. But a swamp meant that there would be water nearby.

Removing herself from the mucky ground, she leapt up onto softer ground and followed alongside the boggy area. She took careful steps, attempting to prevent any further encounters with the disgustingly gloppy liquid.

The swamp, much to Sina's delight, soon led to a crystalline pool. Stalks of cattails protruded out of the water and lilypads were scattered along the shore. Small guppies darted rapidly about in the water, and a toad croaked loudly from atop a rock.

Sina considered whether or not to kill the toad for food. She decided to go for it, since she and Micah's supplies were not unlimited. Grasping her hunting knife, she crept forwards towards the lazy toad, who croaked again. Before Sina made him literally croak. As in die.

She chuckled good-naturedly at her personal pun.

Stuffing the dead toad in her pocket, Sina tried to ignore the slimy texture that now coated her fingers. She wiped them off on her khakis quickly, shuddering slightly. She stooped down and after opening the canteens, began to fill them up with water from the pond. Then she retrieved the small flask of iodine and using the dropper, she cleansed the water, making sure all possible poisons would be cancelled out with the other liquid. She repeated the task with the other canteen soon after.

Feeling accomplished, Sina stole a long swig from one of the canteens. She quickly refilled it and added in four drops of iodine, and closed the cap, shaking it a few times to mix it all together. Following this, Sina attached Micah's canteen onto her belt while holding hers in her hand and she analyzed her surroundings. Finding her footsteps along the soft path next to the swampland was easy, so she set off, backtracking her previous path.

Backtracking turned out to be a quick way back, and Sina found herself back in the woods, following the broken branches and footsteps that she had made.

Feeling comfortable and carefree, Sina thought fondly of her family back home in District Nine and a ghost of a smile danced upon her pale face.

She kicked a seemingly fatal mushroom away with her foot, and wiped the remains off on a rock. One could never be too careful. In the plant identification stand during the training days, she had noticed multiple dangerous mushrooms that could burn through materials.

_Isn't that lovely? Acid mushrooms._

A scowl appeared on her face as a putrid smell enveloped her. She soon began to fathom that she was feeling... dizzy? She held a bemused expression for a few moments before she realized something.

_Oh no._

Sina had also noticed a new breed of Stinkhorn mushrooms. A particularly deadly type. The facts clicked and her eyes widened in fear as she stumbled about, trying to get away. Her vision was blurring and her legs were being weighed down by an unseen force. Sina flailed about, terrified out of her mind.

She collapsed, unable to stand any longer. The canteen in her hand clanked to the ground, water dribbling out, onto the hard ground.

_Carnicus stinkhorn... slowly killing its victim with its deadly fumes._

The green world around her spun black.

**I like ending chapters in dramatic flairs, don't I? Sorry for short chapter, I would've had it be longer, but the cliffhanger literally wrote itself. Not my fault, eheh. **

**All right guys, so I've been thinking, and I've decided to have a character raffle. You submit a character or two, via PM ONLY (review characters will be ignored, I don't want this story to be removed) based off of the character profile located on my profile page, and I'll include your character in my story if it wins. I'll judge based off of quality and uniqueness of the tribute. Both genders welcome. The slot is open now until April 9th. I'll update again by then. If I don't get any characters, that's okay, I can just make up my own. Sound good? **

**List of the dead:**

District 5 boy (the one that attacked Sina)

District 6 girl

District 7 boy

District 7 girl, Emaree

District 8 girl (age 12)

District 10 boy

District 11 girl

District 12 boy

**~Ash**


	5. A New Ally?

**Congrats to Hoprocker, who won the character raffle. Once I read through her characters, I couldn't help but immediately think up plans for them, and since I actually really liked the plans, I chose her tributes. (Garfield and Tetra, both from D4) Also, the chapter is written in Garfield's point of view.**

Garfield Cantor found himself running at full speed, still unsure of what had just happened. A loud, excited shriek came from somewhere behind him and he felt a jolt of terror. One of the Careers cackled deviously from his left, and he flexed his fingers inside the pair of gauntlets that he wore, preparing himself for any sort of (very) inevitable combat.

_What the heck just happened?_

One moment, Tetra was laughing at one of his jokes, and in the next...

_Tetra's grin morphed into a frown as she remembered something. Garfield looked puzzled, his smile fading away into a neutral state. He tilted his head slightly, questioning her action._

_"Gar- Garfield, I need to tell you something." Tetra muttered, grabbing his arm and she dragged him off._

_"What, Tetra? Where are you taking me?" he asked. _

_Tetra led the dark-haired boy away from the other Careers. Andrina Peridot, from District One smirked as she watched the duo go. She knew exactly what was going to occur, because she knew how to manipulate Tetra. A few compliments and good words, and she had the District Four girl wrapped around her pinkie finger. She was willing to do whatever Andrina wanted. And Andrina Peridot wanted Tetra's precious little boyfriend __**out.**_

_Garfield, not knowing this, followed his girlfriend dutifully. After the couple were safely out of hearing range of the other Careers, Tetra spoke._

_"Garfield, I'm breaking up with you."_

_"What? Why?" Garfield felt his heart thumping loudly in his chest, and a mix of remorse, guilt and anger washed over him._

_Tetra's originally calm, down-to-the-point mentality turned ugly. Her face distorted into a snarl._

_"I'm not some sad little girl waiting to be rescued anymore, Garfield," she growled, making a point to call him by his first name and not his nickname._

_"But... What about all the times we shared?" Garfield was feeling worse by the second._

_"Things change, Gar. The girl you liked is just a memory now."_

_"But what changed that?"_

_"The Hunger Games. What do you think?" Tetra tossed a clump of her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes._

_Garfield felt stricken, "But... but I volunteered... with you..."_

_"That was your mistake. Now you're stuck in the Hunger Games."_

_Garfield felt like the world had crashed down on him._

_Andrina Peridot, who was carefully listening in on their conversation through its whole length, took her chance to step in._

_"Without any allies, too." Andrina laughed, a cruel gleam in her eyes._

_Garfield's eyes widened and he backed away instinctively, "W-what?"_

_"You're out of the Career alliance, Garry-bear." Andrina acted sad, but cackled maniacally the next moment._

_"Just because I'm nice, take your silly gauntlet gloves." Tetra added in, and Andrina shot her an angry look. Tetra looked intimidated, immediately apologizing._

_Garfield was too busy sprinting back to the Cornucopia for his weapon to hear any more of the two girls' conversation. Tears were blurring his vision and his chest constricted tightly._

_"You have a ten second head start, Garfield!" came Andrina's purring voice, as Garfield snatched up the gauntlets and fitted them onto his hands._

_And Garfield began running for his life._

Garfield could hear Andrina's taunting voice not too far behind him, and for once, he was glad that he was talented in agility and speed, not something useless like history or knitting. His adoptive mother loved to knit, and tried to teach Garfield when he was younger, but he never got the hang of it. It bored him immensely, and he had absolutely no talent in it.

Garfield had an urge to scream in frustration. Where had this come from? Everything was fine with Tetra yesterday. The only thing that was different was the fact that she had killed a tribute. Could that be it?

He huffed heavily, only letting himself slightly slow down. He paid for his action by getting nicked on his ear by one of Andrina's throwing knives. Blood trickled down from the cut and stuck to his spiky dark brown hair. He swiped at it with one of his hands, but only succeeded in speckling his gauntlets with blood.

A spear landed to his left, and he wrenched it out of the ground quickly. He wondered whether Tetra or the District One boy had thrown it. Garfield hoped it hadn't been Tetra.

Turns out it had been Tetra, because she threw another spear at him with precise speed. Luckily for Garfield, he had heard it flying and managed to dodge it by careening to the side with certain agility. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Trees became to invade his line of sight, and he realized that trees provided protection and somewhere to hide. In addition to that, he doubted that the Careers would follow him in the forest, they thought low enough of him to believe that he wouldn't be able to survive. Tetra was the only one who wouldn't doubt him.

Tetra. He had been with her for three months, and acted rashly at the Reaping, by volunteering to go alongside her. Garfield wasn't sure whether he regretted that decision or not yet. But since Tetra... broke up with him... he didn't even know anymore.

The running became a subconscious action, as he thought about all the fun times he and Tetra had shared. Images of Tetra laughing while watching a home movie flashed through his mind. He recalled a moment where Tetra had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Passing notes in class was another faded memory flitting through his brain, and he remembered what one had said.

_"Hey, Gar. I'm excited for exploring tonight. We still on? ~Tetra."_

The two of them had snuck out and gone exploring down at the beach at midnight. They had splashed around in the water, scoured the beach for sea shells left over from the storm, and returned home sopping wet, but not caught.

Garfield tromped into the forest hurriedly, but he could no longer hear the ear-shattering whoops of the bloodthirsty Careers. He stole a glance behind him, and to his relief, saw the receding figures of the group a while away. He released a heavy sigh and slowed his pace to a walk.

Now that he wasn't so focused on getting away, Garfield started to notice that his ear was stinging with pain from being nicked by the knife. He put his hand to the wound and removed it. Blood covered his fingertips and Garfield groaned. Who knew such a miniscule wound could produce so much blood?

Garfield ventured through the forest, passing a large boulder covered in moss. He traveled deeper into the forest, gripping the spear that Tetra had thrown at him tightly in his right gauntlet-encased hand.

The serenity and silence of the forest, not counting the animals, was reassuring to Garfield. It gave him a chance to think. He smiled, relishing in the beautiful scenery. He missed Tetra, though. She would've loved this.

_No. Enough about Tetra. You need to get over her. She's gone, teamed up with the Careers, and not you._

Garfield gulped back a tear and tried to down. There was nothing to be done about Tetra, she had joined the Careers and the way she acted earlier in the day... It wasn't the Tetra that he knew. She was different... somehow.

He trekked through the forest, observing the synthetic world around him. He scoured the ground for small animals; he knew that he wouldn't be able to survive without food.

Shortly after, instead of finding prey, he found another tribute. It was obviously a girl, by her long, curly red hair. She was splayed out on the ground, as if struck by something on the head or something in the like. Curiosity washed over him, he wanted to see why she had been rendered unconscious. A canteen lay a few inches away from her outstretched hand. Maybe the water had been poisonous...?

Garfield poked her on the cheek with an elongated stick that he found a few metres away. Nothing happened.

But then, the girl's eyes lazily fluttered open as she regained consciousness, but they flew shut the moment they did so. She winced for some reason, but didn't get up.

Garfield poked her arm.

The ginger-haired girl immediately bolted up into a sitting position, seemingly on guard- even though her eyes were still squinted and blinking. Garfield wondered why she had been splayed out, unconscious in the middle of the forest.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice wavering. She was shaking slightly, but she seemed like a pretty capable girl, so she must've just been simply shocked.

Garfield responded, "I'm Garfield Cantor. Who are you?"

"Sina Reyye..."

The girl, Sina, was obviously acting very cautious around Garfield, but he could understand why. He was an unknown tribute to her, and he had a weapon.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Garfield offered, and he could feel an essence of relief wash over the conversation.

Sina cracked a tiny smile, "I won't hurt you either. Still a bit woozy, to be truthful."

Garfield cocked an eyebrow quizzically.

Sina giggled, replying, "Poisonous mushroom gas. Stupid, right?"

"Mhm..." Garfield mumbled, still thinking about Tetra. He knew that it was pointless to pine over his ex, but he just couldn't get over her. That was the one thing that Garfield outright disliked about himself, he couldn't get over things easily. He pondered over them for months, and never got over them.

"Hey, ummm..." Sina blurted out, "Do you want to be allies?"

_Well, that was abrupt._

Garfield was unsure, but he automatically nodded, grinning a bit. Sina seemed like a nice girl, so why not? Maybe she could take his mind off of Tetra.

"Come on, you should meet my ally Micah!" Sina was already dragging him off deeper into the forest, and he couldn't exactly object, so he just followed the energized girl. She led him past what seemed to be hundreds of winding, branchy trees and undergrowth, including emerald green, curvaceous ivy, tiny, delicate flowers and prickly bushes. Grass was scattered randomly, and burrs attached themselves to the duo's shoes, but neither cared.

Garfield loved the sight. He relished in it. He had grown up along the shore, with sandy beaches and threatening storms; therefore he had never truly experienced the beauty of a natural forest. Not that this was actually real, since it was designed by the Capitol, but it sort of counted. Sort of.

Sina swerved to the right, looking at a mark on a pale birch tree. Garfield followed, eying the scratched wood carefully. Clearly a knife indent, she must've marked her way. Clever.

Garfield marveled at his surroundings, still unable to believe what he was seeing. He hadn't gotten any time to properly analyze the forest earlier, he was too focused on escaping the Careers.

He wondered why Tetra had let him have the gauntlet gloves.

"Come on!" came Sina's voice.

Garfield realized that he had been dwindling behind her and rushed to catch up with her.

Sina's ginger hair bounced as she stood by a large boulder and she leaned down to check something, then perked back up.

"We're here."

**Yeah, twas a bit of a long chapter, but heck. It took awhile to write, though. I was originally planning for it to be two chapters, but I decided to morph them together into one. Sorry for posting it late, though. I'll start up on Chapter 6 as soon as I can. Review and tell me (and Hoprocker) if you like Garfield. And Tetra. XD Also, should I do the next chapter in Sina's POV or another character's, and who?**

**~Ash.**


	6. Micah

Micah watched as Sina plopped down on the ground, grinning like an idiot. Garfield stood awkwardly between her and Micah.

"Who the hell is THAT?" Micah complained irritably.

"I'm Garfield," the chocolate brown-haired boy announced, "From District Four."

"Why the heck is he here?" Micah glared at her ally and the boy beside her.

"Well... I found Sina unconscious somewhere in the forest and I poked her with a stick and she woke up." Garfield shrugged.

Micah still had her suspicions. District Four was usually a Career district and she didn't trust him one bit. He could've easily been lying.

"Yyyep." Sina chimed in. Micah rolled her eyes.

Okay, maybe he wasn't lying. But she still didn't trust him. She didn't trust anyone. Not even Sina. Micah had only allied with Sina because she knew that it was a good strategic move. Everything Micah said or did was carefully planned out. She wasn't scared of killing. That girl from District Eight hadn't attacked Micah, she had attacked the girl. She had been in Micah's way of getting back to District Ten.

Micah had promised her best friend Seth that she would return. And Micah never broke her promises, no matter the cost.

Micah grinned and laughed at the joke that Garfield had just cracked, acting completely nonchalant. No one even suspected her. She was just another fourteen-year-old destined to die in the Hunger Games.

She smirked inwardly.

"That's really cool, Garfield." Sina laughed.

Garfield blinked for a second and smiled, "Call me Gar."

The only flaw in Micah's plan was that Sina was growing on her. And Micah couldn't let that happen. Sentiments were not for the Hunger Games.

"Hey Garfield, congrats. You have another ally." Micah cocked her head to the side, grinning innocently.

Garfield chuckled, "Cool."

Micah zoned out after this, not wanting to listen to the conversation.

_"Surround yourself with allies. You'll be safer that way. But don't trust them." Seth warned, and Micah nodded seriously._

_"Ditch or kill them once you reach the final eight." he said, furrowing his dark brows._

_Micah replied solemnly, "Will do."_

_"And please, please, do your best to come home." Seth pleaded._

_"I promise." Micah told him._

The sky began to darken and Micah could swear she heard a wolf howling. It was eerie, but Micah didn't care. She crawled back into the underhang and rustled through Sina's backpack, looking for the last piece of jerky, while Garfield and Sina socialized. Micah located it quickly, snatched it and chewed on it thoughtfully.

She wondered if Sina and Garfield were even aware that anyone near them could hear their loud conversation. Micah grasped her bow just in case.

"Wait, you used to be in the Career alliance?" Sina asked.

Now_ that_ grasped Micah's attention. Yet another reason not to trust him.

"Yeah, but I'm out, as of today..." Garfield seemed grim. Micah wondered why.

"How come?" Sina questioned, as if reading Micah's mind.

"Bit of a long story, but shortly saying, betrayal." The boy looked incredibly hurt at the memory of something, "I'd rather not discuss it."

Micah raised her eyebrows. Career betrayals were usually pretty violent. She wondered why Garfield hadn't been hurt. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. He could have been lying.

But instead of saying anything, she just muttered towards the duo, "Hey, I'm gonna crash. I'm really tired."

The seal of Panem suddenly burst into the sky and Micah peered out, just in time to see the District Eight girl's shining face. Hana Liencres, read the caption below it. She smiled inwardly, remembering Hannah's... untimely death.

Then Micah leaned back into the cave, lay down, closed her eyes and... found herself unable to sleep.

So she lay in the cave, quietly listening to Sina and Garfield's conversation, taking in useful information when she could, until she finally succumbed to exhaustion.

**So now we learn more about Sina's ally. Micah is not who you expect her to be. Ehehe. Let's try to get to 18 reviews, shall we? **


	7. The Mutts Arrive

Sina yawned lazily, not wanting to wake up to Micah's gentle prodding. She and Garfield had remained insomniacs and stayed up for hours, simply talking. Her eyelids were drooping and drowsiness refused to leave her.

Micah poked Sina again, "Wake up, we need to hunt for food."

"I thought we already had food..." Sina slurred, still half-asleep.

"Nope, it ran out pretty quickly." Micah rolled her eyes. Sina could faintly detect annoyance in her voice, but was too exhausted to mind. She rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"All right, give me a few minutes." Sina mumbled lazily and Micah sighed. Garfield stirred slightly, outside the overhang area, having not wanted to intrude the previous night. He didn't awake, however. Sina sighed and let her eyes flutter open slowly. She groaned at the sight of the dark sky.

"Seriously, Micah? It's not even sunrise yet." Sina complained, wanting to prolong her comfortable sleep.

"That's the point. Most of the tributes won't be awake yet, so we can hunt in peace." Micah proclaimed, and Sina realized that Micah's reasoning was incredibly clever. She sat up straight and ran her fingers through her hair in a failed attempt to brush it. She pined for a comb, her curly red hair had gotten incredibly tangled and it irritated her to no end. Sina gave up after a few minutes and simply tied it up in a messy high ponytail.

Sina yawned, crawled out of the underhang and stretched her limbs. She shoved a hunting knife and a couple throwing knives into the multiple pockets of her utility belt and shivered at the cold temperature.

She finally noticed the fact that the previous night had been near freezing level, frost littered the ground in patches and dew was frozen onto leaves and branches. Puffs of white smoke exhaled from their nostrils as Micah and Sina breathed the chilling air.

"Do you know how to set up a trap?" Micah questioned and Sina shook her head in a "no."

Garfield muttered something inaudible, then bolted up straight, piping in, "I know how to make a trap! It's easy..."

Micah grinned excitedly, "Can you set one up near our camp right now?"

"Sure!" he said, cheerfully, "Do we have any rope or knives? I'll need to cut some branches into shape."

Sina nodded, "There's some rope in my backpack, and you can use my hunting knife for now." She retrieved the knife from her belt and tossed it over to Garfield, narrowly missing his neck. He yelped, "Hey!" but picked up the knife and swaggered off to get the rope.

Micah motioned for Sina to follow her into the vast forest. A howl rang out from a distance away. Sina and Micah exchanged an alarmed look before plunging deeper into the woods. Sina gripped one of her knives tightly, cutting her palm slightly as the blade dug in. Blood trickled down her arm and she spat out a small string of profanities.

Micah raised her eyebrow, "You okay?"

Sina nodded, loosening her hold on the knife.

The duo meandered through the forest, pushing through the thick shrubbery, swatting at the occasional mosquito or fly, their ears perked for any signs of animals.

Sina stopped suddenly in her tracks. A rabbit rustled in a bush. Sina's knife sliced through the air and planted itself in the poor rabbit's heart. The redhead whooped a bit too loudly, earning her a glare from her brunette friend. Sina went to collect the rabbit's body, crouching down and dragging it out by its long gray ears.

The rabbit screeched loudly and bit Sina's hand. She retreated immediately, waving her hand harshly.

And then she finally noticed that it wasn't exactly a rabbit.

It had glowing beady red eyes that focused on the two girls; Sina's knife was embedded in the middle of its ragged silver metallic body, cracks streaming out from the wound. It leaked a liquid that sizzled when it touched the ground and Sina was certain that it wasn't water.

It was _acid_.

The mutt screeched again and Micah whispered worriedly, "What should we do?"

Clicks and whirring sounds were beginning to be audible and another metal bunny appeared beside the first one.

"Run." Sina muttered, and spun on her heels, dashing in the direction they had come from. Micah followed, sprinting right behind Sina.

Of course, the bunnies and Gamemakers weren't done with the two of them yet. They followed in pursuit, metal gears clinking against the ground.

Sina stole a glance behind her and yelped as a dart shot at her foot. The first robot bunny had ripped the knife out of its chest and chomped it into sharp, miniature blades that it was now shooting at the fleeing, terrified girls.

Her heart pounding in her ears, Sina broke through a large berry bush, sending juice splattering anyone and anything in range. Micah didn't seem to care, she uttered no complaint as she puffed forwards. Sina was beginning to tire, she had lost her burst of stamina and was running on pure impulse and determination at the moment.

Sina suddenly wished she had pushed herself more in her physical education classes in school.

A dart buried itself in the back of her shoe. It slashed through the material and into her skin. A stinging sensation vibrated from the back of her foot. She cursed loudly, and attempted to dislodge the shard from her foot by kicking, but it refused to budge.

Micah yelped from beside her, "My shoulder! Agh!"

Sina glanced beside her and saw an angry gash leaking blood on Micah's right shoulder. She gulped, but kept going.

The two burst through into their camp clearing and Sina shouted, "The trees! They shouldn't be able to follow us into the trees!"

Micah nodded and shot towards a bushy spruce tree.

Sina dashed forwards towards a winding oak tree. Once she arrived, she scrabbled to get a hold on one of the branches and to hoist herself upwards. She scaled the oak, branch by branch until she sat atop a steady limb, breathing heavily.

Micah's bloodcurdling screech came from below.

"I can't get up!"

Sina's eyes widened.

And all Sina could do was watch, as her ally was torn from her helpless position by the tree and ripped to shreds by the rabid robot rabbits, screaming her head off.

Until Micah ceased her pained cries.

And the mutts retreated.

**RIP Micah. Sorry for a bit of a slow update, I had STAR testing all week last week and I couldn't get anything done. I started the next chapter, though. ****I really need to finish my math homework (damn matrices) and go to bed.**

**~Ash**


	8. Shock

Sina was completely paralyzed at what she had just seen. She was frozen to the spot in the oak tree, grasping the branch with her shaking hands. Micah's body was still splayed out on the ground, bleeding profusely. Her right limb was jarred and hanging off her body uselessly, bones and flesh poking out of the gory rip at her shoulder.

A cannon boomed in the distance.

Sina's silence was torn away once a hovercraft appeared in the sky and a claw reached down and grasped at Micah's body, a platform forming from the end of each of the prongs, until her ally's mangled body was fully supported. Then she was lifted up.

And only then did Sina begin to scream.

Her screams brought Garfield running, "Sina!?"

He looked around the clearing, not even thinking to look up in the trees. Sina would've laughed at him if she weren't in this particular situation.

"Up here..." she croaked, her whole body shaking with terror.

Garfield's head swung upwards and he stared at Sina. She slowly pointed to the bloodstained ground and choked out, "Micah... sh-she's dead." Garfield's eyes widened in shock as he gazed down at where Micah used to lay. Her bow was strewn aside and a knife was embedded in a robotic rabbit a few lengths away.

Sina began to crawl down from her perch, feeling wary of the height that she was at. She was terrified of falling. She slid down the ragged trunk and leapt from the lowest branch to the mossy ground. The soft moss cushioned her impact and she stood up slowly, her knees shaking.

"What happened?" Garfield asked, and Sina gulped, her chest tightening as she said, "Mutts."

He grimaced, "The Gamemakers sure have been bored..."

Sina averted her gaze. She still couldn't believe what had happened. Micah had been with her one moment, and the next... she was being ripped to shreds while Sina watched.

Her stomach growled. Sina then remembered why they had encountered the mutts in the first place. Food. She stumbled over to the backpack hidden in the cave, and searched through it, feeling worried after not finding even the tiniest bit of food. Her canteen lay beside the bright orange bag. Sina shook it, and to her dismay, realized just how low on food and water supplies they were.

"Garfield, can you fish?"

He rolled his eyes, "Of course I can. I'm from District Four, remember?"

Sina laughed awkwardly, "Riiiight. Well, we're low on food and water. I know a small pond where we can get water and fish. I guess you can have Micah's water bottle now..."

"Are you sure?" Garfield asked, "About the water bottle, I mean."

"Well she's dead, she can't really use it..." Sina mumbled bitterly, feeling angry that she was unable to save her ally from that horrible fate.

Garfield grinned, taking the canteen. Sina sighed, "Come on."

She led him away from their camp, through the winding, threatening forest and towards the murky marsh. They made their way through the boggy ground, trying not to get stuck. Sina tried to keep light conversation between them, but her mind persisted wandering towards Micah.

It was hard for Sina to admit, but she missed Micah. It was a strange feeling for her, she didn't usually get close to people other than her family. Sina was still stunned by the fact that she had _watched_ her friend die and that she couldn't do anything about it.

The duo finally arrived at the pool, and Garfield began the painstaking work of trying to spear the plethora of small fish. Sina could see that he was annoyed by their speed as they darted about in the crystalline pool. She unlatched her canteen and filled it with the clean water, then added iodine to it. Sina shut the top and shook it, put it down on a rock and then bounded over towards where Garfield's canteen lay, abandoned as he fished. She quickly filled it and placed it next to her own canteen.

Then, she bent down and took a long drink, sputtering slightly when she caught a guppy in her mouth. Sina spat it out, giggling.

Garfield rolled his eyes, "If you had kept that, we would've had a tiny snack."

Sina snorted, "What, that little thing?"

The District Four boy replied by sending his spear flying into the water, gutting a medium freshwater fish. He smirked, and pulled the spear out of the water. He slid the fish off of the sharpened tip and tossed it at Sina, who yelped and dropped it. It flopped once, and fell still.

Garfield sent a glare in her direction.

"It's so slippery!" she argued, but she picked it back up and rinsed it in the pond. Blood flowed freely out of its wound and into the water. A silvery fish swam over and inspected the water. Suddenly, a larger fish darted out from the shadows of the cat lilies. It swam over to where the other fish was flitting around and swallowed it whole.

Sina gaped at the sight, retracting her hand and the fish from the water instinctively. The larger fish jumped into the air, baring its sharp teeth at her and snapping at her hand. Its scales shimmered in the air.

_Beautiful, but deadly_, something in her mind told her, and Sina bounced backwards in shock, still holding Garfield's first catch.

"Garfield, there are mutts in this pond, let's get out of here..."

Said boy dragged his spear out of the water with another fish dangling from the end, "Huh?"

"Mutts. In. The. Pool. Let's go!" she hissed, snatching the two canteens with her free hand.

The brown haired boy's eyes widened, and he backed up, "Hand me my canteen, will ya?"

Sina tossed it towards Garfield, and he caught it easily with his left hand.

Another fish sprung out of the water, snapping fiercely, before submerging again. Soon, there were tens of ferocious-looking mutts jumping up into the air, their silvery eyes as if glaring at the two tributes.

Sina and Garfield took one look and slowly shuffled away, not wanting to attract any more unnecessary attention. Sina, having wanted to get rid of the slimy fish for a while now, stuck it back on Garfield's spear, just above the other fish he had caught. She slung her canteen on her utility belt and pointed Garfield in the direction of their camp.

She hoped she had remembered it correctly.

**I'm back. Hai. Okay, sorry about a bit of a slow update, but here is the chapter. Also, I'm halfway done with Chapter 9. :D I should update again soon. Warning, I won't be able to update for 2 weeks in June, because I'm going to an awesome camp. May is also busy for me, because school ending and graduation crap and finals and ugh. But yeah. Review because I have writer's block. **

**~Ash**


	9. Meeting the Careers

Meanwhile, at the Cornucopia, Tetra and the rest of the Careers were arguing where to hunt tributes next. Seven tributes were left dead on the first day, all massacred by the band of murderous teens. On the second day, it seemed that one of the outlier tributes had gotten a kill themselves, and the Careers had taken the time to carefully explore their surroundings. It was the now the third day, and none of them had gotten a kill all day, leaving Andrina Peridot irritated and impatient to get more blood on her hands.

Andrina was not someone you wanted to meet when she was in a nasty mood.

"Do any of you dimwits remember where the other tributes went?" Andrina snapped, her brown eyes flashing. Tetra searched her mind for the memories of the Bloodbath hurridly.

"I saw the Three boy head eastwards, towards the rocky cliffs..." Copper, from District Two helpfully offered, and Andrina smirked deviously. Tetra copied her smirk.

"The Five girl headed west, I remember her clearly." Tetra butted in, wanting to please the other Careers with her information.

"All right then, Tetra, grab your spear and kill her. Don't miss." She narrowed her eyes, and Tetra shrunk back, knowing what Andrina was hinting at. The District One girl had held Garfield's survival against her, and Tetra knew she was dancing along a dangerous path, so she nodded dutifully.

"Copper, you can take care of the Three boy. Now go. Karin, you're guarding camp. Pierce and I will hunt for other tributes." Andrina announced.

Tetra headed for the inside of the golden Cornucopia to retrieve the silver-tipped spear. She could hear the District One pair tramping off, weapons already in hand. Copper appeared at the entrance of the Cornucopia, searching for his twin swords. Finally, after finding them again, he left. Tetra remained in the horn for a few minutes, thinking.

Karin's cough alerted her that she should be heading out. Tetra passed the bored-looking District Two girl and shot a sympathetic look at her. Karin just scowled and crossed her arms.

_Fine, be like that,_ Tetra thought, rolling her eyes.

Tetra set off in the direction of where the Five girl had run towards, hoping with all her might that she hadn't moved. This kill could be the difference of life or death for Tetra.

* * *

Andrina and her District partner, Pierce Valhalla trotted along a rocky path, sword in Pierce's hand, throwing knives in Andrina's. Their faces were stony and serious, completely dedicated to their goal; the death of the other tributes.

Andrina knew that when there was a lack of kills, mutts came out to play, and she preferred to face mutts towards the end of the Games, not the third day. It was pathetic.

Pierce obviously also knew the fact, by the determination painted on his face.

"Is it strange that we haven't gotten any sponsors yet?" He asked.

Andrina cocked her head in thought, "I don't know."

"Well, we'll get some sponsors for sure if today goes as planned." Pierce asserted, and Andrina nodded. _If they killed enough tributes._

"I guess we better put on a nice show for them." Andrina leered dangerously, her silvery eyes narrowing and a smirk planted itself onto her pale face.

Andrina knew that the more tributes she killed, the closer she would be to getting back to her boyfriend Reichen. She had promised him she would come back, lathered in fame and riches. It was her duty to District One. Andrina Peridot would reign victorious in the 33rd Annual Hunger Games, and she would live to return to her home again. She didn't care who she had to kill, she would do it with pride.

"There! I saw some movement!" Pierce yelled, sprinting forwards towards a large clump of grasses. A shriek was emitted and the Three girl who rejected their alliance, Lotus sprang out of the undergrowth and bolted in the direction away from the two Careers.

Andrina breathed excitedly as she took chase alongside Pierce, exclaiming towards her District partner, "Oh I do love a good chase!"

Pierce nodded and with a burst of speed, flashed forwards. He tried to tackle the wiry girl, but was unsuccessful. Lotus wriggled away with ease, and it seemed like she was almost laughing at them.

Andrina growled under her breath, "Useless boys."

"Hey!" came Pierce's voice, but she ignored him and zipped towards Lotus. Andrina threw herself to the ground, reaching out and snatching Lotus' ankle. Lotus cried out in shock and toppled to the ground, kicking at Andrina.

The District One Career wasn't planning to give up that easily. But neither was Lotus.

Pierce was beside Andrina now, and he thrust his sword at her chest. Lotus' eyes widened for a moment, but she twisted to the side, still wriggling against Andrina's grip. She sent her sneaker flying into Andrina's nose. Only then did Andrina let go, as her hand flew up to her face instinctively.

Lotus took her chance to stumble away, her breath ragged and terrified. Pierce jerked his sword out of the tough ground and followed her, agile and strong as ever. Andrina gathered her composure, still mourning her precious face, and snarled spitefully.

_Lotus will pay for that with her life,_ she thought, frowning angrily.

Then she noticed that her intended prey was already a far distance away, running at what was most likely her top speed. Andrina analyzed her for a moment, then took off chasing her, like a cheetah after a gazelle. Pierce was already ahead of her, quickly gaining on the other tribute.

_No! She's MY kill!_ Andrina almost screeched, but she withheld her anger. Instead, she drove herself further.

Within seconds, she passed Pierce and was rapidly decreasing the distance between her and Lotus. Said tribute spared a glance behind her and yelped fearfully.

Finally, with a last effort, Andrina made use of the stamina she still had left and propelled herself onto the other girl. She cackled as the Three girl fell to the ground, at her mercy.

Lotus thrashed around, clawing and biting at whatever she could touch, but Andrina was numb to it all. She had experienced worse pain, this was nothing. Andrina smiled, "Any goodbyes to your family?"

"No." Lotus spat in her face, and Andrina scowled, "Good."

The Career retrieved her knife from her sheath and ended the fight.

A cannon boomed. Andrina crawled off of the body, and wiped her face. Her nose was still sore, but the taste of victory was sweeter than the pain she felt.

**Finally done with this chapter. Sorry for such a late update, I've been really busy lately with school. Quick question, do you mind me constantly switching points of view? If you don't, I have one more person I'd like to add into the mix. **


	10. Fish and Sponsors

An hour after they had left the now dangerous pool, Sina and Garfield showed up at their campsite, feeling hungry and exhausted. They had gotten lost at least twice, but Sina's tree markings had helped them find their way.

"Let's cook the fish," Garfield announced, after a long moment of silence.

"All right. You dig the pit, and I'll get kindling and wood. We can't keep it for long, though, or tributes can find us from the smoke." Sina quipped. Garfield nodded in agreement and leaned his spear with the fish against the rock shelter. He got on his knees and began digging in a dry spot, making sure that no brush was nearby, in order to prevent a forest fire.

Sina disappeared into the forest, picking up twigs and dried grass as tinder. She made multiple trips for tinder, kindling and firewood. By the time she had finished, Garfield had dug the pit and surrounded it with medium sized rocks, so that no sparks would fly out and injure the two allies.

"I have a lighter in my pack," Sina remembered, putting down the wood in her hands and going over to search for the lighter. She rifled through the bag, locating the fire source in a matter of minutes.

"Got it!" She announced in triumph, holding it up like a trophy.

Garfield dipped his head, "Toss it here."

"Think fast!" Sina sent the lighter flying at him with baseball pitcher speed. Garfield staggered around, falling on his ass, but caught it. He sent a glare towards Sina, who giggled.

_Micah would've found this hilarious..._, she thought, as her smile ebbed away.

"What's wrong?" Garfield questioned and Sina looked sad.

"I miss Micah."

Garfield pulled Sina into a comforting hug, and a tear splashed on his shirt, but he didn't care. Sina, however, quickly wiped her eyes and sniffled a bit. She gulped, "Sorry."

"No need to be sorry, I still miss Tetra." He blurted out, then bit his lip.

"Who's Tetra?"

Garfield felt a pit of dread in his stomach, "She was... my girlfriend. Was. She broke up with me to be a Career."

Sina's heart panged in sympathy, "I'm sure you'll find someone."

"If I make it out of the Games." Garfield said, scowling, "Just forget about it."

The brown haired boy felt like he'd rather push his feelings away than to deal with it full-on. So instead of continuing the conversation, he began building a teepee out of the sticks and wood that the two had gathered. His stomach growled.

Sina scooted over towards the firepit and began helping him assemble it.

"Smallest sticks go first, then we can put the larger ones on either side. Form a teepee with the rest." Garfield instructed, remembering the skill he had learned during the training sessions.

The two followed through and soon, they had a small fire blazing joyfully. After cleaning their catch, Garfield immediately set to roasting the fish on his spear, knowing that other tributes would be able to see the smoke and come running. The entrails of the fish were carefully buried a distance away, so that any animals that sniffed it out would be a safe distance away from their camp.

Five minutes later, Sina and Garfield were hurriedly putting out the flames, covering the embers with dirt. Water could not be spared. Especially not since the mutts in the pool.

After finishing cleaning up, the two estimated that the fish would be pretty cool now, so they dug into their fish and almost immediately spat it out.

"These taste revolting!" Sina exclaimed in disgust.

"Weird... They look like normal fish. I've seen this exact type in District Four. I've even eaten it. I guess the Gamemakers decided to mess with them..."

Both their stomachs growled pathetically at the same time. They looked at each other, and sighed.

"Well... It's too late to hunt now..." Sina mumbled. Garfield nodded.

The sunlight was fading and it was starting to get much colder. Sina shivered.

But to both of their delights, a silver parachute gently floated down from the deep blue sky and landed in front of their sitting bodies. Sina's eyes lit up, "A sponsor!"

Garfield grinned and called out to the sky, "Thank you!"

The allies ripped the box open, to reveal two rolls and a few packets of beef jerky wrapped in a light blanket. A note fluttered to the ground.

It read _"No more fires, the trainees have been hunting lately. Good luck."_

Sina held a puzzled look, but Garfield took one look at the note and commented, "They mean Careers."

"Oh. Right."

"Yeah. Let's save the jerky for later, and we can eat the rolls now." Garfield offered, and Sina nodded in agreement.

The two sat in silence as they nibbled on their rolls, until Sina spoke.

"I could've gone for some butter right now."

"Yeah. Me too. I'd kill for caviar." Garfield sighed.

"What's that?" Sina asked, having no knowledge of fish or anything relating to District Four. Garfield chuckled, explaining quickly, "Fish eggs. They're delicious."

He watched her eyes widen, "That's cruel." Sina noted.

"It's just like regular eggs. Except fish."

"Good point, but still."

Garfield rolled his deep green eyes at her last remark, but he was interrupted by another parachute flying down. He gasped in surprise and tore it open. There lay a tin of caviar, and a tiny tub of butter. A note was placed right above it. Sina and Garfield leaned over to read it.

_"You said you'd kill for caviar. How about it?"_

Garfield scrambled away from the package quickly, "NO! I DIDN'T MEAN LITERALLY!" And suddenly, the ground opened and swallowed up the package, nearly taking Sina with it. She yelped, grabbing for her roll as it flew out of her hands. As soon as she got over the shock, she remarked, "Didn't know they could take back sponsor gifts..."

Garfield pondered the occurrence for a moment, "It must've been personally from the Gamemakers or something. Maybe the President. That would explain the note."

"Yeah, probably."

A burst of light in the sky interrupted their conversation. The duo stopped what they were doing. Sina's roll was still halfway in her mouth as she glanced up. The Capitol seal decorated the night sky, the only light in the arena. The seal transitioned to a smiling face. Garfield looked pained as he read the name.

_Lotus Silver, District Three_, the caption below it read.

"I talked to her during the first day of training. She was really nice. She didn't deserve this." Garfield choked out.

"None of us did." Sina sighed. Next, the half smile-half smirk that was so familiar to Sina popped up. _Micah Brook, District Ten._

The fake sky faded into black, only revealing a few twinkling star projections. Sina suddenly didn't feel like finishing her roll. She tucked it into her bag for the next day and left her ally in silence, to go crawl up in a ball in the cave. She didn't even bother to bring in her supplies.

Garfield sighed, looking down. Finally, he took the sponsored blanket and fell fast asleep right outside where Sina was sleeping.

Day Three of the Hunger Games was over.

**You're WELCOME for the gift, you little twerps. And I had to add the "killing for caviar" part. I was cracking up the whole time writing it. I'll open sponsoring after I introduce the last character(s) in the next chapter. Then you'll be able to sponsor a) the Careers, b) Sina/Garfield, c) The new character(s). I'll elaborate on the rules later.**

**List of the dead:**

District 3 girl, Lotus Silver

District 5 boy (the one that attacked Sina)

District 6 girl

District 7 boy

District 7 girl, Emaree

District 8 girl (age 12)

District 10 boy

District 10 girl, Micah Brook

District 11 girl

District 12 boy


	11. Yin and Yang

Techno Garris' eyes flew open at the break of dawn of the fourth day in the Hunger Games. He glanced towards his side, thinking he heard something. He saw Conduit Lye, his ally from District Six was sitting on a boulder a few metres away, sharpening a handmade spear with a pocketknife, and humming quietly to himself. Techno sat up straight, stretching his aching back.

"Hey Techno." Conduit murmured, not even bothering to look towards his ally.

"Hey." Techno replied, as he pushed a strand of frizzy hair away from his face. It was always getting in his way, and it drove him nuts.

"Gotta sharpen this spear, we haven't had food since Day two." Conduit supplied Techno with the already known information. They sighed in unison, then stared at each other for a moment before awkwardly looking away.

"That was creepy."

"Yep."

Conduit returned to sharpening his spear, if you could even call it that. Techno adjusted his glasses and yawned. He stood up, stretching his weary muscles and tried to calm his hungry stomach. His legs felt wobbly and sore from the previous day, he and Conduit had been chased for hours by one of the Careers. The duo had thankfully gotten away, but not before the District Two boy nicked Techno's left shoulder with one of his swords. Luckily, Techno was right handed.

"How did you sleep last night?" Techno queried, knowing that the other boy had taken the night watch.

"Could've been better. I crashed somewhere near midnight, though. You?"

"I woke up in some ungodly hour and couldn't sleep for quite a while." Techno sighed, "I'll take the watch tonight."

"Thanks." Conduit was obviously relieved at the thought of a good night's sleep. He continued to sharpen the spear-to-be dutifully.

The previous day, a Career found them. They had to flee from their previous camp in a hurry, leaving all their measly supplies for any tribute's taking, which included the half-filled water bottle that Conduit had stolen from the Cornucopia. In fear of the Careers returning, Conduit had offered to take watch for the night.

Techno couldn't help but think that at least someone would be happy from their loss. He sighed, and went to explore the new area.

Instead of the almost familiar rocky cliffs that they had resided in for the past three days, Techno explored what seemed to be a cross of a desert and a wasteland. Cacti littered the cracked, dry ground and burnt trees poked up in random areas. He could swear he saw a tumbleweed rolling by. A rabbit poked its head out of a hole, but tunneled back immediately, feeling wary of the tribute. Dust whirled by in clouds of ash, and an acrid burnt smell wavered in the air. The District Three boy wrinkled his nose in distaste.

_At least that means it'll drive the Careers away, too,_ he thought to himself, sighing.

He traveled further, trying to see if there was any source of water to quench his parched body.

But he found none.

Throughout the vast terrain, there was nothing. Not a single drop of water. There were only prickly pear cactus fruits, which he knew were edible (once you removed the skin), so he speared some that were in reach with a strong-looking stick and headed back to where Conduit was.

By the time Techno returned to their makeshift camp, he was sweating and feeling incredibly drowsy, the morning sun and cool air lulling him.

Conduit grinned at him once he arrived, whooping, "I finished sharpening my spear!" He held up the threatening-looking weapon in triumph. Techno gave him a half-hearted smile and held up the stick with the fruit in response.

"What's that?" Conduit asked, cocking his head.

"Cactus fruit. It's edible, once you clean it. Sort of sweet, and really watery."

Techno could recall having it once. There had been a shipment from one of the outer districts and his parents had been lucky enough to get one of the reddish purple fruits. Techno's family was moderately rich, from a technology company that his father sold. It wasn't worth much now, though. Someone else had invented something better.

"I can clean it with my pocketknife." Conduit offered, and Techno nodded, walking over and handing the stick to his ally. The Six boy took it and cleaned the fruits with ease while Techno watched with some interest.

Techno watched as his ally tentatively tasted the food, grinned and popped another chunk in his mouth. Then Conduit remembered that he had to share and shrugged. He held out a handful of the red chunks and Techno gratefully took them.

The duo ate in silence. Techno sat next to Conduit on the boulder, thinking deeply.

_Maybe the wastelands aren't that bad of a campground, after all..._

* * *

Rally Soohi was one very happy camper. Bestowed before her was a treasure trove of supplies. Though small in quantity, anything was welcome. She had quickly run away from the Cornucopia and hadn't gotten anything. This was like a gift presented to her on a silver platter. She pumped her fist in a silent victory dance, as to not attract any enemies and raced over to her newfound items.

What she found was a canteen, a tiny flashlight and a jacket. She kneeled down and picked the canteen up, shaking it vigorously. Water sloshed around, much to her delight. Rally began to greedily gulp the water down before her senses kicked in. _This could be the only water you'll have for the rest of the Hunger Games._

She stopped in mid-sip, still feeling thirsty, but knowing it would be better to ration out her supplies. Rally sighed dejectedly.

She stood up, tying the jacket around her waist with the sleeves and tucked the flashlight into her pocket. Then she glanced to each side before darting away.

The dark-skinned girl disappeared into the shadows of the towering boulders and monuments, her ponytail bouncing as she ran.

**Alright guys, that's it for Chapter 11. Two points of view in one. Review, because I did not hit my review goal last chapter. Seriously, I don't like updating if I don't get 3 or more reviews. And I stayed up late to finish this. When I have to wake up early. **

**I actually have eaten prickly pear cactus fruit. When I was a kid, we had this giant cactus in our backyard and I remember picking the fruit and peeling it in my kitchen and getting tiny thorns in my fingers. Enough with childhood stories now. I decided to update today because SUMMER HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN! And it's 3 AM. And I have to wake up early tomorrow for SIX FLAGS!**

**Sponsoring is now open. You can only sponsor once, and only if you've constantly reviewed. Sponsoring is open for Sina, Garfield, the Careers (Andrina, Pierce, Copper, Karin and Tetra), Techno, Conduit and finally, Rally. I will be picky with the gifts, so I reserve the rights to refuse a sponsor gift. (Yay just like Hoprocker shut up I'm totally not copying her)**


	12. Moving and Rally's Blowgun

Conduit Lye sat on a flat rock next to his ally Techno, nibbling on a cactus fruit. Techno was busy trying to pick out one of the tiny thorns that had implanted itself into his thumb. Conduit was watching him amusedly.

Truthfully, Conduit was already sick of the fruit, but it was obvious that the reddish purple cactus fruit was most likely going to be the only food they would find, so he bit back his distaste and ate. Juice dribbled down his chin, and he wiped it with his shoulder.

"Do you think we should move?" Conduit spoke, suggesting the idea all of a sudden.

Techno shrugged, still focused on removing the irritating little prick.

"There's got to be something _more_ in this arena than these outlands..." the dark-haired Six boy continued.

Techno raised his eyebrow and grinned, "You tired of this place already?"

Conduit stared at him blankly, "Well, yeah. And the cactus fruit."

The Three boy chuckled, "You do know that there's rabbits further into the wastelands, right? And I bet you could catch one with your spear."

Conduit sighed, "It's not just that. I hate the heat, and I hate being so exposed. Anyone could see us from a mile away, and that isn't good at all."

"You have a point... Fine, if you want, we can move."

"Really?" Conduit was surprised. From what little he knew about Techno, he knew that the other boy was stubborn and liked things to go _his_ way.

"Sure. We can try to go back to where we were before, or venture further on."

"I say let's try going over there." Conduit pointed to some dark looking trees in the distance, and Techno was found nodding.

"Sounds good. There should be plenty of cover there, and it looks rather secluded and a bit threatening, so nobody else would want to go there." Techno supplied.

"Yeah..."

"Anyways, I'm going to go get some more cactus fruit, in case we don't find anything good there."

"Okay. I'll wait for you." Conduit said. Then after thinking for a few moments, he added, "Actually, I'm going to go hunting for a rabbit or two. You made a good point about food, and I'd rather have rabbit than more of that stuff."

Techno laughed at Conduit's facial expression. He had this sickened look displayed, and his distaste for the fruit was clear.

"Meet back here in an hour or so?"

"Deal."

So Conduit and Techno set off in different directions, Conduit with his spear and Techno with his branch.

Conduit was secretly a bit glad to be alone, he hadn't had the chance since the Games started. Unless sleep counted, which Conduit didn't think it did.

_An hour to myself, this should be nice..._ he thought, gripping the handmade spear tightly in his right hand; his eyes peeled for any sort of movement.

* * *

Rally Soohi trekked across the rocky landscape, heaving her small body above towering boulders and wriggling through cracks. She didn't know where she was going, and she hardly cared. She just had to get out of view. That was the only thing on her mind as she forced herself forwards, in the searing heat.

Sweat dribbled down Rally's forehead as she squeezed through a gap between two gigantic boulders. There was no way she could scale the full height, and she had no doubt that the rocks would be burning hot. She squinted as a burst of sunlight hit her directly in the eyes.

_The Gamemakers sure must be bored to make it this unbearable..._ she thought to herself, panting. _Damn Capitolians just love to make us suffer._

Rally scowled and cried out in pain as a sharp rock jabbed her side. She flipped of nothing in particular. The heat felt numbing and she swore that she would kill for a swim, and she meant literally. If she had a weapon.

She sighed and wiped a line of sweat off of her forehead. She already felt exhausted from the beating sunlight and the dirt swirling around her.

Rally appeared outside the crevice. She was uncomfortable, dirty and thirsty. She checked her jacket for the water canteen she had stashed in one of the pockets, and nearly screeched in pure anger to see that it was gone.

She whirled around, scanning the area around her for it. Dropping down to her knees, she searched around for it. Rally tossed her jacket to the side, crawling back into the crevice and pawed around the ground. It had to have fallen somewhere. With dirt stuck under her fingernails, and her eyes darting around wildly, she frantically pushed through the area she had just been in, backtracking her path.

A crow cackled from above. Rally rolled her eyes in frustration, and continued to search.

But much to Rally's dismay, the water canteen seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Feeling irritable, she mentally cursed the world, cursed the Capitol, cursed Panem.

The dark skinned, dark-haired girl dejectedly slipped through the rock crevices, collected her jacket and tied it around her waist. Rally held a unbreakable grimace as she trod forwards, her throat still parched and her breath ragged.

There was a small clearing before her, a spindly tree planted right in the middle of it and boulders surrounding it from every side. Rally was boxed in, which could be both a good thing and a bad thing. Good, because no one could see her. Bad, because it would be tough to get away in a hurry. Good, because her followers would have trouble too. Also good because there was shade by the rocks and below the tree. The ground was tough, but patches of grass grew wherever shade was located.

Rally examined the area and began to seriously consider staying there for the night. It was mostly protected and there was relief from the burning sun. There wasn't much else there, but she would have to keep moving after the next day, so it didn't matter that much. She sighed, and settled down under the branches of the oak tree.

The shade shielded the rays of sunlight from touching Rally's skin, and she was grateful for it. The day had been especially hot and unbearable. She leaned against the tree, closing her eyes and relaxing her body.

Besides the humid air, the conditions around Rally were tolerable. She felt surprisingly at ease, despite fully knowing what was going on around her.

A slender package floated into her lap, the parachute covering it halfway. Rally's eyes snapped open, and she sprang up, immediately on edge. The box toppled down to the ground

She whipped her head to look around her, but there was nothing. Finally, she glanced down and cocked her head quizzically. Rally bent down to pick it up, the parachute cloth slipping off the box as she detached the clips that held it together.

Still wary, she ripped the packaging away, to reveal the weapon she wanted most. A blowgun. Rally's expression curled into a smirk.

With her sharp eye and this in her possession, she could rule the Hunger Games.

**God, I need to stop sponsoring my characters. Sorry for the slow update, I've been having writer's block and I can't write anything good, so this is pretty much all I could come up with. And yes, I believe that I'll be writing Conduit/Techno and Rally in chapters together. Mostly because I get bored of one set and realize that I haven't written a long enough chapter. XD I'll see you guys in about a month, depending. Going to camp and then Russia. No internet. **


End file.
